PM Modi meets Sri Lanka's Tamil Community: 'Will contribute to social, economic, cultural progress' (WATCH)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met with leaders of Sri Lanka's Tamil community, expressing sorrow over the passing of respected Tamil leaders R Sambanthan and Mavai Senathirajah. During the meeting, PM Modi emphasized India's commitment to promoting equality, dignity and justice for the Tamil community within a united Sri Lanka.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දමිළ ප්‍රජාවගේ නායකයන් හමුවීම සැමවිටම සතුටට කරුණකි. මා පෞද්ගලිකව ම දන්නා ගෞරවනීය දමිළ නායකයන් දෙදෙනෙකු වන ආර්. සම්බන්ධන් මහතාගේ සහ මා⁣වයි සේනාධිරාජා මහතාගේ අභාවය පිළිබඳව මාගේ ශෝකය පළ කළෙමි. එක්සත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ දමිළ ප්‍රජාවට සමානාත්මතාවය, අභිමානය සහ යුක්තිය හිමි… pic.twitter.com/RV1wG7CESr

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 5, 2025

Expressing joy after the meeting, PM Modi shared the picture on X and wrote, "Meeting with the leaders of Sri Lanka's Tamil community is always a matter of joy. I personally expressed my sorrow over the passing of two respected Tamil leaders I knew, R. Sambanthan and Mavai Senathirajah."

"I emphasized an unwavering commitment to a life of equality, dignity, and justice for the Tamil community within a united Sri Lanka," he added.

Mavai Senathirajah was a Sri Lankan politician who was a Member of Parliament. He was the leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) from 2014 to 2024.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets the leaders of Indian Origin Tamil (IOT) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

(Source: ANI/DD News) pic.twitter.com/NlG21lau63

— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2025

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer who led the Tamil National Alliance from 2001 until his death in 2024.
"We will contribute to their social, economic and cultural progress," PM Modi said, highlighting the numerous projects and initiatives launched during his visit.

PM @narendramodi met with the Tamil Leaders from Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

PM reaffirmed 🇮🇳’s continuous commitment to work for the well-being of the Sri Lankan Tamil community. pic.twitter.com/odXLx4SCEz

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) April 5, 2025

Following PM Modi's meeting with the Tamil community, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X, "PM @narendramodi met with the Tamil Leaders from Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. PM reaffirmed 's continuous commitment to work for the well-being of the Sri Lankan Tamil community."

Earlier, PM Modi held a meeting with Sri Lanka's Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa and appreciated his personal contribution and commitment to strengthening friendship between two nations.

PM Modi said that cooperation and robust development partnership between India and Sri Lanka are guided by the welfare of the people of two nations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other officials were present during the meeting.

Glad to meet Sri Lanka’s Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sajith Premadasa. Appreciated his personal contribution and commitment to strengthening India-Sri Lanka friendship. Our special partnership receives support in Sri Lanka cutting across party lines. Our cooperation and robust… pic.twitter.com/fE8SBn34Yd

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 5, 2025

In a post on X, PM Modi stated, "Glad to meet Sri Lanka's Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sajith Premadasa. Appreciated his personal contribution and commitment to strengthening India-Sri Lanka friendship. Our special partnership receives support in Sri Lanka cutting across party lines. Our cooperation and robust development partnership are guided by the welfare of the people of our two countries."

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the two leaders exchanged views on ways to further advance cooperation between two nations.

PM @narendramodi met Leader of Opposition @sajithpremadasa in Colombo.

Exchanged views on ways to further advance 🇮🇳-🇱🇰 cooperation. Our ever-expanding ties enjoy bipartisan support in both our countries. pic.twitter.com/QzRbYgxff7

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) April 5, 2025

"PM @narendramodi met Leader of Opposition @sajithpremadasa in Colombo. Exchanged views on ways to further advance India - Sri Lanka cooperation. Our ever-expanding ties enjoy bipartisan support in both our countries," Jaiswal posted on X.

PM Modi is on a State visit to Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6 at the invitation of Sri Lankan President Disanayaka. His arrival in Colombo on Friday marked his first visit to Sri Lanka since 2019.

PM Modi was accorded a historic ceremonial welcome at Independence Square in Colombo on Saturday. It is the first time that Sri Lanka has honoured a visiting leader in this manner.

Prime Minister Modi reached Colombo after concluding his visit to Thailand, where he attended the BIMSTEC Summit and held bilateral talks with several world leaders, including Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli and Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

In Sri Lanka, PM Modi was warmly received at the airport by six senior ministers, despite rains: Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, Labour Minister Anil Jayantha, Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, and Science and Technology Minister Chrishantha Abeysena.